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‘Please tell me you have an idea’
‘Aside of shooting? Not much’
‘I’m worried about you not including surviving in that plan’
‘It’s overrated anyway’
Jason is on the right behind the desk, with Rose at his other side, firing and backing down again from the bullets that come from the open wide door. Heavily armed guards are firing from their own cover positions, and the sound of their own bullets ricocheting in their armour tells Jason they’re doing not much if any damage.
‘They’re locking down the place and getting everyone down. Hood, need assistance? This is our opportunity to slip up there’
August’s voice sounds in his ear, and Jason curses as a bullet takes his desk corner out, just at the side of his head. This went down too fast for his liking.
They were supposed to infiltrate the director’s office of the shell company involved in some nasty underground business of trafficking. They were undercover, everyone in pairs doing their own thing. August and Jack acting as postmen in the middle levels, checking the council members ins and out. Laney and Artemis were in the lobby, monitoring the entrance and security equally. Eddie and Komand’r were underground, in the lower levels trying to find the illegal merchandise the company hid and sell, alongside any other information. It was up to Rose and Jason to get to the higher levels and get any information the director would be hiding. They had investigated the company fully weeks prior, checking employer’s lists, daily suppliers and the buildings blueprints. They were so over prepared that of course it was a stupid thing that make everything go to shit.
Rose and Jason were in the director’s office, downloading everything up when Laney’s hurried voice told them to get out of there immediately. Seconds later, a secret door opened and a woman came out of it, freezing at the side of them.
The director’s secret affair, going back from the secret passage that obviously any director with that kind of company would have and that was absent in the blueprints. Because she had forgot her jacket.
A jacket.
A fucking jacket ruined weeks of surveillance, making them run behind the desk, with all the secret security the building wasn’t supposed to have just behind their escape door. Just Jason’s luck.
Another bullet pierced near his elbow this time, and Jason was so done.
‘Oh you motherfuckin- that’s it’
He took a grenade out of his suit jacket, and in a swift motion he took the safety off and throwned it blindly at the door.
‘Why you have a fucking grenade?!’
Screamed Rose under the bullets noise, huddling closer and keep firing.
‘C4 was too obvious for this jacket!’
‘You asshole! You said no obvious weapons! You made me leave my sword!’
‘That is an obvious weapon!’
The explosion takes out the majority of the entrance, throwing the guards around and leaving the path open. Their desk leant on them from the impact, but as the fire goes down they don’t hesitate to start moving.
‘Don’t bother, Godspeed. Hood just blasted our way out. Literally’
‘Yeah, we noticed. More guards are going up by the way’
Jack’s voice sounds slightly breathy, and Jason knows they’re already moving down the building to regroup with the others.
‘Prime? Any alternatives way out?’
‘Take the next elevator to the 25th floor. There’s a cleaner’s platform in the main conference room’
‘Thank god there’s always a cleaners platform’
They run to the elevator, going in quickly and pressing the 25th button, taking a minute to breath.
‘What, wouldn’t you prefer fighting our way down?’
Teases Rose, reloading her gun. Jason throws his own to the floor and takes another from his back.
‘Not all of us can regenerate. I’ll like to keep my second life, thank you’
‘Spoilsport’
The doors open, but thankfully the guards aren’t still too up the building and the scared employers already cleared out. Rose goes first, gun up, with Jason following and covering her back. They make good time to the conference room, opening the door and starting to get to the window.
‘Not vertigo, right?’
The wind makes her hair flutter as she opens it, and Jason breaths in the breeze outside, more familiar with heights than the ground.
‘Why? You do?’
Rose snorts, using the window edge to impulse herself forward, landing in the platform in a swift motion. It swings with her, and Jason’s own landing makes them both grab the sides.
‘Uh, guys? There’s activity down here. Those experimental guns we found? They’re getting them out’
‘Get out of there, Red Devil, Komand’r. We’re going down. Meet us in the car’
Together they start to take the platform down, and Jason prays that no guard has the thought to look outside.
‘Cars are starting to park. It won’t be a silent getaway, little one’
‘Doesn’t matter anymore. Artemis, Prime, we’ll be out in ten. Godspeed, Rankorr, you out already?’
‘Just getting to the car. There’s a lot of security, hurry up or we’ll be surrounded’
Rose stops, gesturing to his left where the window of the current floor is. He doesn’t know which one is, but they can get inside again and act as scared employers, getting out from the same door they got in.
‘Red Devil and Komand’r already in the car’
They lose the weapons and jackets, and Rose even makes tears appear in her eye. As Jason predicted, they pass without problems, only to arrive at the lobby, where Artemis is just punching a guard for getting handsy registering her. There it goes their silent retreat.
‘Fuck. Get the car ready, this will be messy’
More guards are starting to move, not knowing what is happening, only that Artemis punched one of them and is looking ready to punch whoever gets closer. Without any visible suspects on the trespassing in the building the guards are supposed to catch and adrenaline going high, they turn to the amazon, getting their weapons ready.
‘Hood?’
‘Stay where you are’, grunts Jason, joining the fray Artemis and Laney are starting, ‘we’re almost out’
Laney does his best to open a path, Rose close behind. The guards don’t even have time to shoot, afraid of getting their colleagues as collateral, and they use that to their advantage to go forward. With a loud roar, Artemis punches the group near the door, being the final barrier between them and outside.
‘Go!’
The four of them start to run, dodging bullets and using the parking cars as cover.
‘Hot damn!’
‘We can blast them and-‘
‘No!’, says Jason, getting his ankle pistol out and firing back, giving time to the others to get pass him, ‘We’re supposed to be undercover!’
‘That literally got blown away!’
He can see the car, lights out but ready to go, and Jason speeds up. Artemis jumps inside, Laney just behind her, and the backdoor closes. Rose slides throw the capo, and the driver’s door opens a second before Jason gets it. Bullets impact outside, and he curses loudly.
‘Hold on!’
He speeds immediately, dodging the parked cars and getting in the road with a squeak of wheels. He hears cursing in the backseat, and risks a glance to check on everyone.
August in squashed on the window, with Jack at his side holding on Eddie, who’s thrown over everyone. Artemis is on the other window, Komand’r in the middle tight in her side and doing her best to hold Laney, in the middle of everyone and trying to not topple out of the very packed seat. Jason is so glad he got a car with a big enough backseat.
He hears sirens behind, and goes back to cursing.
‘We need to lose them’
‘Suggestions?’
He passes a yellow light at record speed, and he knows he’ll have to dodge traffic in the next.
‘Get to the harbour, Jack can make something for us to hide’
Jason takes a corner, making all of them topple over, yelling and cursing.
‘Keep straight for two more streets. We’ll direct you’
Says Laney, and he and Eddie huddle around his wrist computer.
A big bump makes the car topple over, and Artemis curses, being on her side. Jason looks to his rear view mirror and doesn’t like what he sees.
‘Shit, they-‘
‘Get down!’
Screams Rose, seeing the weapon out of the car window at the same time as Jason.
Bullets pass the back mirror, exploding the glass and making all of them duck as best as they can.
‘Holy shit!’
‘Take the left street! The left!’
Jason makes his best to dodge the bullets and get to the left side of the street, speeding even more.
‘Hold to something!’
‘There’s nothing to hold!’
‘Just do it!’
The car topples dangerously to the left, going up in two wheels for a moment, and everyone is yelling. Jason hears a laugh at his side, Rose having the time of her life. Jason feels his own adrenaline going up, and he can’t help a manic laugh of his own.
‘This is not funny Jason!’
Screams Eddie, but Jason hears him trying to stifle his own hysterics.
The car goes down, and he goes back to race mode.
He takes more corners in the same way, Laney and Eddie doing their best to direct him, and soon all of them are laughing hysterically. For adrenaline, danger or at the entire situation, he doesn’t know, but it calms the part of him that is worried about any of them getting hurt.
The peace longs until he turns again, and an armoured car almost makes him crash.
‘FUCK!’
The truck literally bounds on it, and Jason quickly takes back control, wheeling out of the way in a zigzag curve and trying to lose it. The wheels squeak loudly in the asphalt, and glass gets everywhere. His window is cracked, not broken, but the impact takes out his rear view mirror and he almost feel bruises starting to appear on his skin. The car behind them is heavier than normal, armored and in black paint to blend in, and Jason can get the lead thanks to that, although not for much.
‘Everyone okay?!’
‘We okay, but we’re getting farther from the harbour!’
‘Get me an alternative route!’
He tries to think in a way out that doesn’t end with them crashed by another impact. He’s not sure the car could sustain another hit like that.
‘Is in a wide open highway! No cover!’
‘We already lost our cover!’
Says Rose, getting a very real machine gun from under her seat.
‘Can I shoot them now?’
She asks, but is already lowering her window. Jason didn’t want to get more attention to them, but even he recognizes is a little later for that with a metaphorical tank behind them.
‘Like you’ll wait or want my permission’
‘Damn right’
‘Wait, you had a gun under your seat all this time?!’
Jack looks scandalised at both of them, as Rose turns around, pointing pass them.
‘And why you didn’t use it before?!’
August’s tone is the exact opposite of Jack, making him duck so Rose gets a better shot.
‘Just get down and let me shoot them’
‘There’s two more coming from the sides!’
Artemis has being silent, but her calm but strong tone suggest she has being attentive to everything around. Komand’r is the same at her side, observing and thinking a way out but otherwise letting the others take the lead, being a more familiar situation to them. So to speak.
Jason presses the accelerator again, the armored tripled cars behind, just as Rose fires. It doesn’t make anything to them, but the surprise makes them skate and loose some speed that Jason totally uses to their advantage.
‘Is not exactly working!’
‘I could blast them!’
Komard’r screams over the noise, turning to get a better view of their pursuers.
‘That would show our power too much! We’re supposed to be petty thieves!’
‘No, it can work!’. Eddie does his best to rearrange on top of everyone, dodging the bullets they’re starting to fire back in response to Rose’s shots. ‘Kom, fire through my portals! They’ll think they’re getting fired from above and not us!’
Jason leaves them to it and concentrates on dodging the best he can. He can hear bullets ricocheting in the backseat, and for a moment he panics, thinking about bullet wounds. But the red tint of the seat reveal Jack’s shield, protecting them subtly.
A green blast gets one of the cars to veer out of the street, crashing heavenly with the parked ones and making a big explosion. Jason gets another moment of adrenaline induced laugher, until he thinks about how the Justice League will be at their backs for the mess.
You can’t enjoy a harmless explosion anymore with those stick in the ass idiots, he thinks, dodging more bullets as the other two cars take the place of the destroyed one.
Rose throws her gun to the car floor, and gets a shotgun one from the glove compartment. Jason doesn’t know if he feels proud or annoyed that she didn’t follow his no-obvious-weapons rule. Well, he didn’t follow it either anyway.
‘Turn right! That’s the highway! Straight up and we’re in the harbour!’
He turns, using all his driving skills to keep the half beat and shot car moving. Komard’r blast another shot, not doubt keeping them low and far between to not arise suspicions. But the angle is not the best, and all the movement around takes out the opportunity of a good shot.
It makes the other car topple dangerously on the turn corner anyway, following the first one from behind in the narrower street.
‘It doesn’t make anything to them!’
Complains Rose, throwing her second weapon too, trying to find another one of higher caliber in her mini arsenal in the passenger seat.
‘They’re getting close!’
‘Are you sure we can’t blast them?!’
‘It would blow our cover! We aren’t supposed to have that kind of power, obviously alien!’
Another bump shakes the car, and Jason sees a big gun get out of the window. Apparently they got tired of this chase. Good, Jason was too. Time to get Charlotte.
‘Rose! Take the wheel!’
Rose takes the steering wheel, Jason moving to give her the seat as she passes over the dashboard with her eyes in the road.
‘August! Under the seat!’, screams Jason over the firing noises, Rose making her best to dodge and sit in the driver’s seat as Jason moves to the passenger one, ‘Take the gun and cover me!’
He watches the cars behind, calculating angles and the best way to take them both at the same time.
‘And someone get me the weapon in the compartment on the floor!’
He gets his knees under him, facing the backseat and moving the seat lower to have more space.
‘Jason what tHE FUCK!?’
Eddie screams, as Laney takes the weapon out of his surprised hands and pass it to Jason. Jack is equally as disbelieving, but Artemis doesn’t give a second glance. Komard’r is still trying to find a good angle to fire and August gives a double take at the sight of it, forgetting his firing position.
‘I thought you said no big weapons! Why did you PACK A ROCKET LAUNCHER?!
‘FOR THIS EXACT DAMN REASON! NOW FUCKIN COVER ME!’
Jason gets half his body out of the window, August shooting at the reinforced car windows to distract the passengers. Jason gives himself a moment to smirk, getting the rocket out in one movement, pointing and shooting in another.
There’s a moment of stillness, where everyone holds their breaths.
A second later, it impacts in the front of the armored car, making it veer out of the way and getting the other one to crash it from behind, stopping in a scraping of burned wheels and scorched steel. The explosion didn’t destroy it, but it had enough impact to get them out of the street and giving them a way to speed out.
He goes back inside, Laney giving the last directions to the harbour.
‘Get an alley or something nearby’, advices Jason, ‘we can get to the safehouse from there’
That gets their attention, and a moment later he’s being yelled at.
‘The rocket launcher!? You bring the rocket launcher?’
‘Why you didn’t tell us there was a literal rocket under us?!’
‘Oh shut up’, he waves them off, Eddie and Jack being the louder ones in their complains, ‘I wasn’t planning on using it, and it give us a way out, right?’
‘Please tell me there’s not, I don’t know, a grenade under me’
‘Only the gun you already have in your hands. And besides’, he says, his feet bumping with Rose’s weapons as he moves, ‘I wasn’t the only one, or we’re ignoring Rose shotgun now?’
‘Oh shut up you-‘
That gets another wave of half teasing half reprimands, and is not late after that they’re getting out of the car in a bad illuminated alley.
‘That was fun’
Says Komand’r, examining the car’s damage.
‘I would have preferred fewer bullets thought’
‘Totally. Thanks heaven for Jack’s shield’
Jason gets down, examining the damage too. It does look pretty bad.
‘Get anything incriminating or whatever out of it. We’re leaving it here’
He looks at Rose when he says it, and they look at each other for a moment. Then, both of them are moving to the car and getting weapons out of different compartments. Rose gets her own version of rocket launcher and puts it in her shoulder.
‘Rose? You too?’
Asks Eddie, pouting at the both of them. She tsks, patting his shoulder.
‘Sorry Eddie, but it was a precaution’
‘Yeah, leave it to the former assassins to bring their toys just in case’
‘Shut it, not all of us have super durability’
‘I advise we move out, they won’t be far and we’re losing our window’
Everyone follows Artemis’s advice, and they steal another car, Jason on the wheel again with Rose on the side and both their weapons in the trunk.
The way back to the safehouse is almost peaceful in comparison, everyone talking about the chase or what they founded, speculating about the data they recovered.
‘That punch Artemis, holy shit’
‘You have to teach us that one’
‘I’m so glad we’re on the same side’
They arrive near the building without problems, splitting up to get to the apartment from different directions. Laney and Eddie get in the security cameras anyway, just in case, and Jason and Rose use the fire escapes and alleys to disguise the fact that they’re carrying heavy weapons.
It looks almost comical, entering the clean safehouse in their state, with dirt, glass and even blood in their clothes and hair.
‘Home, sweet home’
Jason leaves his rocket launcher on the table, as everyone spreads out, lying on the couch, going to the kitchen or the bathroom to clean up.
‘Jason? I think you got something on your side’
Komand’r says, starting to get her shoes out and pointing to Jason’s left side. He looks down, and as he sees the blood on his shirt the pain rushes immediately. Great, adrenaline is getting down.
He groans, leaning on the table, getting attention to him.
‘Jay?’
‘I’m fine’
He grunts, getting the shirt up and looking closer to the damage. Just a graze, but a nasty one. It’ll need stitches. He was still lucky, considering its looks like his only injury.
‘That’s what you always say, and then you’re not even moving after I patch you’
Says August, getting out of the kitchen and directing Jason to the couch over his protests.
‘It’s just a graze’
‘Don’t care. Stay here’
Jack makes him space, and Eddie hovers worriedly. Artemis cleans up the side table and August leaves the first aid kit on it.
‘I’ll call for take up, considering Ramsay and Ducasse are busy’
Adds Laney, moving to their take out lists in the fridge.
‘Take the Chinese!’
‘We had that last time. I’m getting the usual burger and fries’
Rose follows him to bicker some more, and the other starts to move around again as Jason is being taking care off.
August cleans his wound quickly and starts to sew swiftly, Jason grimacing slightly at the sensation.
‘Any other wounds we have to point out too?’
Jason sights, letting his head fall back as the adrenaline goes all out, watching as the others move around waiting for the bathroom or packing weapons away.
‘No’, he answers, making a mental run over, ‘I don’t think so’
‘You’re not lying again, are you? Don’t make me take your pants out to check’
‘Oh, you would love that’
‘You know I’ll do. And don’t avoid the question’
Jason chuckles breathlessly, feeling the tightness of the thread as August finishes, cutting the excess.
‘No. That’s the only one, I promise’
August stares at him seriously, and Jason does his best to put all his sincerity in his expression. August’s usual easy smile appears after a moment, as he takes the plastic gloves out.
‘Okay. You know who to call if is not like that’
‘I know. Help me get my shirt out?’
‘Okay, now you’re just teasing me’
‘I can’t move much my side, I just got patched up’
He says innocently, and August rolls his eyes. He helps him anyway, and gets him up, taking the used supplies to be disposed later.
Jason’s side hurts a little, but as he looks down he sees they’re clean stiches, just as he taught him.
‘You’re getting better’
‘Wouldn’t have to improve if you wouldn’t get hurt every time’
‘My hero’
August chuckles, taking his things and throwing Jason his shirt.
‘Get clean up and then come back. I’ll corral the others for dinner’
Jason goes to do exactly that, feeling more human as he gets in his pajamas, cleaned and almost free of pain. He emerges from the room to the others in similar clothes than him, and he gets to the kitchen to relieve August, taking his place in preparing everything for dinner.
Jack and Eddie had already placed the table, being their turn that week, as Komand’r sits in the couch with Artemis to watch the last part of her show. Laney is typing in his tablet, too impatient to wait for their post mission meeting and overseeing the data. Eddie smiles tiredly at Jason, already sitting at the table, with Rose rummaging around for beer. Jason smiles back, checking the food for tomorrow’s breakfast. August already got the ingredients for lunch out, the meat in the sink slowly melting, so Jason takes inventory for dessert.
The food arrives some time later and dinner is a lazy affair, everyone tired out but excited for the action. Their getaway was supposed to be a lot more peaceful, but well, no one is complaining.
The table gets clean up after it, only August and Artemis getting third rations, and Laney takes it as his cue to take his tablet out, Eddie getting his own computer.
‘Okay, what we found? Eddie, Komand’r? Let’s start with you and we’ll make our way up’
Jason knows whatever they fount in the directors computer won’t be pretty, and he prefers it to leave it for last.
‘Okay’, starts Eddie, tipping up and making a hologram appear from one of his gadgets in the table, ‘like we suspected, there’s a big underground facility. Not like a lab, most like a storage kind of thing. Heavily protected and with its own security’
The projection moves, showing different levels and vault like rooms.
‘It looks heavily protected. I assume they’re protecting something valuable then?’
‘Exactly’, Eddie points to Artemis, showing them another image, ‘A lot of this things, and that’s not even the biggest one’
A gun type of weapon moves in the projection, and Jason frowns at the weird design.
‘I’ve seen that kind of gun, or something similar. It can be pretty dangerous’
Says Jack, moving closely to see it better, confirming Jason’s suspicious.
‘You probably have because is alien. Koltarian more precisely’, adds Komand’r and Eddie starts to show them another ones they found, ‘Is a powerful weapon compared to your usual guns, but has the same size. There’s enough for a small battalion, but we’re sure there’s even more’
Another type of gun, several ball type of things with a swirl liquid inside and what looks like a one-person kind of armoured vehicle.
‘It looks like it could make a lot of damage. I know I could do it with one of those’
Rose moves closer to Eddie, seeing more data in his computer.
‘I don’t even want to think what they’re gonna do with those’
August leaves his plate in the sink, using his speed to clean up and going back to the table after a second.
‘It’ll probably help them take control of the market. Threating them or making arrangements to sell would position them high in the hierarchy’
Laney types something in his tablet, adding the data to their systems in the process.
‘It won’t be long before they get tired of gang fights and decide to level their game up. Government dealings, economics exchanges and what else’
Jason takes a sip of his juice, trying to predict what these guys are trying to do. He grimaces, thinking about what Blackmask could do with this kind of power in Gotham and then the world.
‘What else?’
‘Nothing else’, Eddie shuts the hologram and leans back on his seat, ‘It was a disturbing discovery, but the only one. We think they had been transporting out recently. There were a lot of empty rooms and compartments’
Jason nods, and looks at August and Jack.
‘Right’, says the speeder, ‘There wasn’t much about the council members, they’re as boring as we thought, same as their attitudes’
Jack uses his constructs to show the councils faces around, and they don’t look exactly welcoming.
‘Aside of the obvious sexism around, as you can see for the predominant male members, there wasn’t much to find. Usual working routines, common families and the expected complains’
Jack shuts his display, leaving only one face shining.
‘Except this guy’, he says, completing his construct with some information of the man, ‘Roger Baldwin, 49 years old and in the business for the las 20 years, eleven of them in the company’
‘And the only one with enough security in his office and computer to be suspicious’
August gets a flashdrive out of his pocket, passing it to Eddie who inserts it in his computer.
‘There wasn’t much in it, except for an encrypted file with a weird code. It looked like Kom’s written language so we grabbed it and everything just in case’
‘Wow, it is weird’
Eddie projects the code, and is a weird thing, with a lot of circles and swirls around, organized in a rectangular pattern.
‘Kom? Any ideas?’
Komand’r hums, inspecting the encryptions.
‘No, I don’t recognize any type of information from it’
‘They’re numbers’, says Jack, his red constructs aligning and copying the message, translating it, ‘my ring can translate it. But is not complete’
‘Look like coordinates’, Laney types, copying the information in the tablet, ‘but yeah, incomplete. It doesn’t make sense otherwise’
‘Something tells me we’ll find the other half in our beloved director’s computer’
Rose takes their own flashdrive, passing it to Eddie and waiting as he analyses the information.
‘Yup, there it is. I’m sending it to you Laney’
They share the information, and Eddie then projects the location. A deserted land in Nevada, with only a small town near it and miles and miles of open space.
‘Doesn’t look like much. Are you sure those are the correct coordinates?’
Artemis turns the projection around, zooming in and out, but there’s not much.
‘Yeah and- woah, you won’t like this guys’
He types in his tablet, expression serious, and then sends it to Eddie, who projects it.
‘Is- What is that?’
It look like lists, endless lists with information categorized in different groups and colors.
‘Looks like an overcomplicated list, what’s with it?’
‘Oh my god’, says Eddie, typing in his computer with a scandalized face, ‘Those aren’t just lists. Those are merchandise details. Those are people’
Jason freezes at it, and everyone looks at the turning numbers in the hologram, the seriousness of the situation starting to set in. He moves in after a second, quickly turning the hologram and amplifying it. Just as Eddie’s said, there’re details of the merchandize, ages and gender specifications, and another types of data to give a general idea of the person.
‘They- they’re selling them’
‘They’re not only selling them on Earth’, says Komand’r, leaning on her seat, ‘If we’re interpreting this well, and link it with the weapons, is probably safe to assume they’re selling them in space in exchange of it’
‘They’re selling people’
Eddie is still frozen in his seat, and everyone isn’t much better. August has a grave but resigned expression, just like Rose, being more used to knowing about this type of crimes. Jack is almost the same with Artemis, still and upset, but he still looks uncomfortable, Laney and Komand’r being the most put together thanks to their own experiences with a diverse type of unpleasant things. Jason would like to say he’s surprised, but he isn’t either. He has been working on trafficking cases long enough to know it can always get worse.
‘What else it says?’
He makes himself ask, not letting the ambient get more tense. Laney moves swiftly, typing in Eddie’s computer to project another set on information.
‘There’s a date and lot number. Unfortunately, not information about the, merchandise, so to speak. I believe they buy it from another seller, probably lower gangs and pay them in catch. They would sell them then to the Koltarians, according to the guns origin, and get weapons in return’
Jason nods along, getting the same idea as Laney is speaking.
‘The fact that they’re probably buying them from different sellers is problematic. It could be anyone’
‘There’s probably a trace or something in their data. Eddie and I can crack it some more and see’
‘We should concentrate on the date and coordinates. It could be a good opportunity to infiltrate too’
Adds Rose, and Komand’r nods to her.
‘We should. Assuming we’re correct, a ship should arrive to take and deliver their purchase, or some other similar vehicle. Or maybe the transaction is negotiated there. We have to determine the details and see if an infiltrate operation is possible’
‘We could disguise as buyers or an interested party. That could take us inside’
Artemis crosses her arms, and Jason sees she’s as upset about everything as all of them are.
‘What about the other companies we already infiltrated? Something tells me their data will make more sense now that we know this’
August add from his side, and Laney types in his tablet.
‘It would be useful to revise it again’
‘Okay’, says Jason, leaning on his seat, ‘I think that’s about enough of what we can do for now. Laney, Eddie, see if you can find something else in the data, call us in if you need help. Everyone else, get some rest. We’ll have a lot of work ahead of us with this’
They start to get up, silently than other times, getting some other snack or drink but in majority retiring to their rooms.
Jason feels more tired than before, like what they just learned added a physical weight to his shoulders. He hates human traffickers. Any traffickers actually, that’s why they were and still are his usual targets. He has seen the effects or drugs first hand, same as the disappearance of people in the streets, only to reappear as workforce in another place.
He knows he should go directly to sleep, but he needs to know. So he gets to their systems data, and revises in more detail the lots information. A little more digging and he gets his confirmation. Street people, orphanage kids or no one’s complete the majority of the people being sold, and Jason curses at everything. No one would miss the guy that sleeps in the park if he disappears, the only ones worried enough would be people like him, living in the streets too, and according to the information they would have disappeared not long after. The police wouldn’t do much either. People like that weren’t important enough to have a search party ready.
Oh, but an upper class person? A member of a bank or something? That would get bells ringing, and Jason knows that’s the exact reason the targets are so low in the metaphorical societal chain.
He’s still surfing throw the data, adding names to numbers, making them look like the real people they are when someone knocks on his door. Eddie’s heads appears a second later, and Jason smiles at his friend.
‘Don’t want to go to bed so soon?’
Eddie tries a smile, but is weak as he closes the door.
‘No. Laney sent me to bed early though. He’s finishing crossing the data’
He sits in front of Jason’s crossed legs, and Jason leaves his tablet on the nightstand to give his red friend his whole attention.
‘Is just-‘, he starts, playing with his hands, ‘I know things like this happened, but I’ve never seen it so closely before. They’re selling people Jason, like- like cattle, like they’re animals. Since when they have been doing this? How-‘
Jason sights at Eddie’s silence, looking at his defeated posture.
‘Since forever Eddie’, he says softly, ‘you just didn’t know. Remember when I told you we were doing the job the other heroes couldn’t or wouldn’t do? Back when we were working on the drugs market? This is it. We may not go against the big villains or the last intergalactic disaster, but against monsters that live around and inside us’
‘Who?’
‘People, Eddie, just people’, he moves to sit on Eddie’s side, and lets the younger man lean on him, ‘Common people can be even worse than those villains you had fought in your other teams. Because they’re out there, maybe not doing the big plans or planning for world domination, but crashing others lives in these more subtle ways. That is why heroes don’t always see it, too used to go against giants and big threats. They sometimes forget that monsters have our own faces, and when they threat the world that includes these people, homeless, street kids, working girls and boys and all the other forgotten ones’
Eddie sights, and Jason places his arm around him. The majority of them had seen the worst of human nature first hand, but Eddie is practically new to this underground horror, having fight against big threats and villains with the Titans, going head to head with giants and not working the underground cases they’re focusing now. He had started to learn, when Jason, Rose and he had first started, as they had finished some of Jason’s drug cases. But they didn’t have encountered the effects the drug market had, concentrated in stopping the suppliers and distribution.
Now, after they had finished those cases and then pair up with the others, go to space and coming back to train and prepare, now they were coming back to work on this type of cases again and Jason hadn’t foreseen the impact that it would have in his friend, too used to it now. He berates himself for not seen it, for not prepare for the fallout it could make.
Another knock sounds, and now is Rose’s head that pops in. Her face is worried, but it goes down as she see them both sitting in the bed.
‘There you are. Laney is already going to bed and you weren’t anywhere’
Eddie tries another weak smile but doesn’t say anything, and Rose looks at Jason, worried expression coming back. He gestures with his head to Eddie’s other side, and Rose sits there too after a moment of hesitation.
‘What is it, Hellboy? Needed story time?’
She teases, but is softer than her usual sarcastic comments. Eddie chuckles, smiling at her.
‘No, just- It has being a long day’
Rose doesn’t say anything, but can see her horned friend is sad and upset, so she doesn’t comments on it. Months ago, she wouldn’t have even tried to find him, but the group has turned in an unified bunch after their time and experiences together, and all of them had feel the change it has had in themselves and the others.
‘We’ll help them, right?’
Asks Eddie after some time, and Rose takes his hands firmly after a moment.
‘We’ll do Eddie. I’ll pierce through those assholes that have them with my sword to free all of them if necessary’
‘Please no maiming. We have already too much in our plate without the heroes at our backs’
‘Yeah, sure, mister rocket launcher’
‘Leave Charlotte out of this’
Their usual bickering makes Eddie gives them another smile, and Jason is sure he’s gonna be okay for now. He’ll still keep an eye out for him, just in case, and he knows everyone else would do the same.
Eddie looks beaten up already, so Jason makes a teasing comment about this being like a sleepover. Rose latches to the idea, and goes back to her room to get her bedding before Jason can protest that he wasn’t talking to her. He’s lying, of course, but she doesn’t need to know that.
They get the mattress on the floor, adding pillows and blankets around, talking and laughing about happier things. He gets teased for the million time for his bunny slippers, and he teases them right back at Rose’s bird like socks and Eddie’s tail sleep cover.
They go to sleep after some time, Eddie in the middle looking more at ease than before and Rose throwing her legs around, trapping him and Jason in her usual starfish sleeping type. They groan, but leave her to it, and Jason is happy to have this with his friends, knowing the others are safe and sound around the apartment too.
The next morning he wakes up early as usual, disentangling himself from the mess of limbs and tail, smiling at the sight of his best friends drooling faces. He goes out of the room silently, after going to the bathroom and cleaning his face, intending to start breakfast.
The apartment is silent, not doubt everyone still sleeping or waiting for the usual time breakfast is prepared. Jason stretches as he enters the kitchen, noticing August’s already in the kitchen table, coffee in his hand and his tablet showing the news. He’s in his pajamas too, grey sweatpants and a loose blue t-shirt, showing the lighting mark they’re all used to see. Jason frowns. He’s usually the first up, the speeder not being a morning person, or, in the rare occasions it happens, he usually has his playlist going on already, getting things ready and singing quietly.
Jason snorts at the sight anyway, moving to the fridge to get ingredients out.
‘You’re such an old man’
August chuckles back without looking up, scrolling in his tablet and drinking from his mug.
‘Right. When you sit around with your tea and books is cute, but when I have my coffee and watch the news I’m old, I see how it is’
‘I never said you weren’t cute’
August chuckles again, but Jason’s comment doesn’t get the flirtatious response he usually gets. He leaves the milk on the table, getting the other ingredients together to sit at his side and start to make the pancake mix up.
‘What’s wrong?’
August leaves the tablet on the side after a moment, sighting and taking another sip of coffee. His hand traces absents patterns on the table as he speaks.
‘Nothing much really, just- I think I wasn’t expecting that, from yesterday’, he says without looking up, ‘Is not uncommon, we has had our own cases like that back in Central, but never- It was never like this’
Jason can sympathize with the powerless feeling and frustration it awakens, feeling it in himself.
‘And they are so many Jason, how- how anyone hadn’t seen it? There’s hundreds and hundreds of data, I checked, and I feel like is not all’
‘They were nobodies’, answers Jason, measuring the flour and milk distractedly, ‘Homeless people, street kids, people like that. You wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t looking at it’
‘But that’s it, we should have noticed. People don’t disappear just like that’
‘Would have the CCPD investigated if there were just street people?’
He asks softly, and August looks to the side, tensing his jaw. Is a difficult thought to him, had being part of the police and a whole department in charge of investigating things like these. Jason is sure he’s berating himself just like Jason does when a case slips under his radar, and he takes his hand in silent support.
They get silent after that, thinking on it. The data was extensive, and Jason suspects it can date back to months, even years prior.
‘We’re getting them out’, he says firmly, meeting August’s eyes and squeezing his hand, ‘We’re getting them all out’
August smiles after a second, squeezing his hand back and stroking his fingers.
‘Can there be a little maiming this time though?’
‘Oh, it can absolutely be a little more than maiming. I’m exploding these bastards out’
August laughs, giving another squeeze to his hand and smiling at him. Jason smiles back, feeling the sureness of his own conviction. They’re getting them out.
‘Ugh, get a room’
Rose enters the kitchen then, going to one of the cabinets to take the cereal out.
‘Technically, we’re already in a room’
Responds August, teasing her back and giving Jason another squeeze before getting up, his smile more like his usual mischievous ones.
‘I mean, where we don’t usually eat’
Is way too early for her, but as Jason looks at the couch in the living room, seeing Eddie getting the TV on, he gets it.
‘Oh, shut up’
He rolls his eyes, going back to his mix as Rose gets the box out and two plates.
‘Breakfast will be soon, so don’t eat all the box’
August teases her again, getting bacon out of the fridge and turning on the stove. She sticks her tongue out, rolling her eyes and leaves with the whole box out of spite.
‘Sure dad’
‘You want bacon or not?’
‘Doesn’t matter, I’ll have Jason’s pancakes’
Eddie laughs at them, taking the box out of Rose’s hands to stick his hand inside.
‘I won’t give you any pancakes either if you have that whole box. That’s goes to you too Bloomberg’
‘Aww, you guys are the worse’
He busiest himself with breakfast as more of the others start to emerge out in pajamas. Is a lazy day apparently.
‘Looking alive Jack’
Teases August as the lantern enters the kitchen, looking sleepy. He didn’t have a good night either apparently.
‘Here, let the queen wake you up’
Jason adds, placing a mug in front of him and pouring his usual British brand, and Jack sights contently at the smell.
‘Can I have a coffee? I need coffee’
Says Laney, sitting at Jack’s side. He looks composed as always, already dressed and being up longer than them. Jason’s sure he was probably giving the last details to their data since way before any of them woke up.
‘We’re not a Starbucks, pour it yourself’
Jason rolls his eyes, pouring Laney a cup, feeling generous at the group’s mood. Everyone copes differently.
‘Thank you Jason, you are a good person, not like others’
August pouts playfully from his place on the stove, but he laughs anyway.
‘You spoil them’
He bumps their shoulders together, and Jason bumps right back as he starts frying the pancakes at his side.
‘Is that bacon I smell?’
Komand’r asks next, entering the kitchen and taking a mug of tea that Jason had ready in the counter.
‘Yup. It’ll be ready in a minute’
She sits in her usual place, leaving the TV to Eddie and Rose that are still munching distractedly, not joining them for her usual TV morning scrolls. Artemis comes right next to her, taking her own mug and leaning on August’s shoulder to see what he’s doing.
‘There are not eggs?’
‘I’ll finish here and I can make you some eggs’
She nods, satisfied, and goes to sit next to Komand’r, placing her arm around her chair. Is Jason’s turn to bump their shoulders, rolling his eyes at August.
‘And you say I spoil them’
Breakfast is more like every day, some of them more subdued due to sleep but animated enough, and by the end of it they’re more relaxed. Eddie looks better too, and Jason is happy that his friend is feeling well.
‘Who has the dishes?’
August gets his phone out over the protests, everyone trying to get out of it. He smirks after a moment, ending the discussion.
‘Artemis and Komand’r, is your week’
‘You have the list in your phone?’
‘I pass the majority of my time in the kitchen cooking for you heathens. Of course I’ll know who has clean up duty’
‘Especially after the last time’
Adds Jason, looking at Rose and Laney, the usual ones that get out of it.
‘Jason suggested we took a photo before leaving base to avoid this exact case’
‘And of course you did it’
‘It was a good idea’
‘God, you’re so whipped’
They tease and laugh at each other, starting to get up and helping clean up the table. Jason gives them some more moments to relax, but knows they have to move soon.
‘Get dressed and let’s group up at the table. We’ll see what Laney and Eddie founded and plan from that’
He receives nods and serious expressions, but they look better, more sure and confident in their next moves after processing.
Jason goes back to his room, leaving Artemis and Komand’r with the dishes and the others scatter around. He takes a quick shower, mentally reviewing the data he already revised and playing out ideas for their next move. He dresses calmly and takes his phone and tablet with him, opening apps and getting everything ready.
Komand’r and Artemis are finishing up, Laney sitting already on the table and Eddie is on the couch. Jason sits with him, glancing distractedly at the movie playing on the TV. Jack joins them later, picking a book and sitting at Jason’s side to wait with them for the others.
August appears on the table after literally a second, sitting and scrolling on his tablet like he was there from the beginning and Laney rolls his eyes at him, making the speeder smile. Rose throws herself on top of the three of them, and is a testament of how many times she has done it that Jason and Jack simply move their tablet and book out of the way, using her legs as a backrest for their things. Artemis and Komard’r come some time later, dressed and ready and everyone takes it as their cue to move to the table.
‘Okay’, Jason says, looking at everyone around him, ‘who’s ready to fuck some traffickers up?’
The mood lifts with his comment, just like he intended, and he smirks at the fierce and determined expression in everyone's faces. No many known them, criminals and heroes alike, but they make absolute sure they aren’t forgotten after they encounter them.
‘Let’s get right into it then’
Laney gets his tablet out and everyone does the same, getting ready to start.
The Outlaws have a big mission coming up and Jason doesn’t contain his smirk.
The world doesn’t know what is coming.
They’re just getting started.